为什么很多夏校不能帮你真正留美

加州大学伯克利分校

所谓ABC，American Born Chinese，意思是在美国出生的中国人。

我就是一个生活在美国加州的ABC。我会在这里发表原创观点，由我华丽的独家翻译官翻译，文章将以中英文交替的方式提供。

我的母校 - 加州大学伯克利分校

作为一名ABC，参观大学并准备申请程序是一件很自然的事情。我们有老师、辅导员和我们的高中帮助我们做大学研究、写个人陈述和制作简历。

As an ABC, touring colleges and preparing for the application process was a natural thing. We had teachers, counselors, and our high school helping us research, write personal statements, and build resumes.

在假期中，我们会规划一条旅行路线，专门参观我们感兴趣的大学。因为我来自美国西海岸，所以我不需要走多远就能参观世界上最好的大学。

During long breaks, we would plot a route to visit colleges we were interested in. Since I was from the west coast, I didn’t need to go far to visit some of the best colleges in the world.

但对于希望出国留学的中国学生来说，情况并非如此。正如我在前一篇文章《谁说出国留学是富家小孩的救生船》中提到的，出国留学的准备是一个极其复杂的过程，中国学生将有很多地方需要提高。

But this isn’t the case for Chinese students looking to study abroad. As I mentioned in a previous article “Why studying abroad isn’t the easy way out of GaoKao,” preparing to study abroad is an extremely involved process where Chinese students will have a lot of ground to make up.

赶上别人最好的方法之一就是参加大学行。在你决定未来四年去一个将对你的余生产生重大影响的地方之前，你必须亲眼看看那是什么样子。

One of the best ways to catch up is to go on college tours. You must see for yourself what it is like before committing the next four years to a place that will strongly influence the rest of your life.

你还必须了解生活方式的细微差别，这样你才能在一个新的环境中茁壮成长，而不是被文化冲击压垮。由于大多数的大学之旅只是向你展示你所参观的大学的肤浅外表，所以当你提交大学申请时，你并没有得到任何益处。

You must also understand the lifestyle nuances so that you can thrive in a new environment instead of crumbling from cultural shock. Since most college tours do not go beyond showing you the surface and shallow facade of the colleges you visit, you really don’t get any advantages when it comes time to submit your college applications.

到另一个国家旅游最好的经历之一就是完全沉浸在他们的文化和生活方式中。你大老远跑到美国，一直说中文，和其他中国人一起交流和吃饭，这是没有任何意义的。

One of the best experiences of visiting another country is to be fully immersed in their culture and lifestyle. It doesn’t make any sense for you to travel all the way to America just to speak Chinese the entire time and eat Chinese food with other Chinese people.

如果你想这样做，你大可为自己省下一大笔钱，只需要在网上“访问”大学即可。大学旅行是你应该积极利用的重要机会。它应该为你创造环境来练习英语口语，与当地学生互动，体验作为一个美国学生的生活。

If you wanted to do that, you could’ve saved yourself a lot of money and just “visit” colleges online. The college tour is something you should be able to actively use to your advantage. It should give you the opportunity to practice your spoken English, interact with local students, and experience life as an American student.

应该把目标集中在使用英语多于汉语的大学旅游项目; 尽可能多地练习使用英语。此外，一定要检查他们提供什么样的活动和餐饮。

Look for college tours that emphasize the use of English over Chinese; practice as much as possible. Also, be sure to check what kind of activities and meals they are providing.

有太多的项目为了省钱，迫不及待地糊弄游客，给他们提供最便宜的食物。理想情况下，项目应该向你介绍美国大学生通常吃什么，这样你就可以开始了解和习惯美国大学的生活。

There are too many that are too ready to feed their tours a cheap meal in order to save money. Ideally, the tour will also introduce you to what students typically eat so that they can start getting used to that as well.

我看到很多大学之旅都是由导游带领的，他们只是把从旅游指南上的东西背下来讲给你听。这些导游都不了解任何一所大学的当前文化、申请趋势和生活方式。

I’ve seen so many college tours led by tour guides that are simply regurgitating what they memorized from a guidebook. None of these people understand the current culture, trends, and lifestyle of any specific college.

例如，他们不会告诉你这所大学是否有强大的经济系，或者校园里是否有活跃的希腊生活。他们不会知道最受欢迎的课外活动或俱乐部。他们也不会告诉你一门课程的平均工作量，或者哪些公司参与了校园招聘(On Campus Recruiting)。他们不能给你任何应该怎么利用时间。他们也无法告诉你某所大学喜欢从申请者身上看到什么。在考察大学旅游时，一定要确保旅游是由在校学生带领的; 如果有很多机会与更多的学生互动，那就更好了。

For example, they cannot tell you whether the college has a strong economics department or if the campus has an active Greek life. They won't know about the most popular extracurriculars or clubs. Neither can they tell you about a class’s typical workload or which companies participate in on-campus recruiting(OCR). They cannot give any advice on how you should spend your time. They cannot tell you what a particular college likes to see in their applicants. When looking at college tours, be sure to make sure tours are led by current students; even better if there are multiple opportunities to interact with more of the student body.

只展示大学校园的大学之旅其实可以说是一种浪费。就好像他们给了你一张没有图例或标记的地图。他们不会教你任何关于申请过程的知识，你需要达到的考试分数，如何撰写你的个人陈述，或者如何制作你的简历来吸引特定的大学。

College tours that only show the college campuses are doing you a great disservice. It is as if they gave you a map with no key or markers. They don’t teach you anything about the application process, what test scores you need to aim for, how to craft your personal statement, or how to build your resume to appeal to specific colleges.

如果你被录取了，他们也不会教你如何在大学取得成功。你应该带着一定要被录取的信念去参观大学。因为那样的话，你就需要考虑其他可能影响或决定你上哪所大学的因素。一个综合性的大学旅游项目应该包括教你如何在申请过程和大学生涯中获得成功。

They also do not teach you how to succeed in college should you be admitted. You should tour colleges with the assumption that you will be admitted. Because that way, you will need to consider other factors that may affect your decision of which college to attend. A comprehensive college tour program should include teaching you how to find success in your application and college career.

你应该知道基本的礼仪规范，以及在大学环境中如何社交。你还应该知道如何在学业上竞争，但也要充分体验大学生活所提供的一切。这正是很多应试教育下的中国学生所缺乏的，然而，为了适应社会竞争，这却是一个人最重要和最关键的能力之一。了解这一切将使你成为一个更有竞争力的申请人，并将有助于你为人生的下一个篇章做好准备。

You should know basic etiquette and how to socialize/networking a college environment. You should also know how to compete academically but also fully experience everything college life has to offer. Knowing all this will make you a more competitive applicant and will help prepare you for your next chapter.

每个人都知道哈佛、斯坦福和加州大学伯克利分校，但可能不知道加州大学戴维斯分校或旧金山大学。虽然你应该瞄准最好的大学，但你必须明白为什么它们是最好的。同样重要的是，也要看看那些知名度较低的大学是否真的落后那么远。

Everyone knows about Harvard, Stanford, and UC Berkeley, but probably not UC Davis or University of San Francisco. While you should aim for the best colleges, it is imperative that you understand why they are the best. It is also just as important to see for yourself if the lesser known colleges are really that far behind.

参观不同的大学会让你有不同的视角; 这将是你申请大学的关键。如果你没有同时访问过南加州大学和圣克拉拉大学，你怎么能说南加州大学比圣克拉拉大学更适合你呢? 还有，声誉不是你申请大学时应该考虑的唯一因素。你需要考虑你对哪个项目感兴趣，哪个学院在那个系最优秀。

Visiting a range of universities will give you perspective; perspective that will be key in your college application process. How can you say that University of Southern California (USC) is a better fit for you than Santa Clara University if you haven’t visited both? In other cases, reputation isn’t the only factor you should consider when applying to colleges. You need to consider which programs you’re interested in and which college excels in that department.

例如，加州大学戴维斯分校(UCDavis)的生物工程课程排名高于康奈尔大学(CornellUniversity)。加州大学圣地亚哥分校的生物医学项目排名高于加州大学伯克利分校和宾夕法尼亚大学的项目。

For example, UC Davis has a superior ranked biological engineering program than Cornell University. UC San Diego’s biomedical program is ranked higher than both UC Berkeley’s and University of Pennsylvania’s programs.

如果你是一名准大学生，那么你应该知道圣克拉拉大学(Santa Clara University)和加州州立理工大学(Cal Poly San Luis Obispo)在美西大学中都是排名前十的高等学府。

If you’re a prospective undergraduate, then you should know Santa Clara University and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo are ranked 6th and 7th respectively among regional universities in the west.

只参观著名大学的大学旅游只会缩小你的视野，与你的目的是背道而驰的。为了你自己的利益，一定要选择一个包含一系列大学的行程。

College tours that only visit the well-known colleges will only narrow your vision instead of expanding it. Be sure to select a tour that includes a range of colleges for your own benefit.

即使是最好的大学之旅，你和他们相处的时间也不会超过两个星期。你回家后，又得全靠自己了。这是对本来可以更有建设性的关系的严重浪费。

Even the best college tours do not go further than the week or two that you are with them. After you return home, you’re on your own again. This is a terrible waste of a relationship that could be much more constructive.

在旅途中投入了这么多金钱和时间之后，这笔投资理应继续带来回报。大学之旅只是万里长征的第一步。一个完善的教育项目将会在旅行的基础上继续为您提供后续帮助，并带您走过留学生涯中的每一步。为了使大学行程更有效，您，作为一个学生，最终目的是在您学业的终点取得成功。

After investing so much money and time on the trip, it should be something that continues to pay dividends. The college tour is only one step of a long and complicated process. A good program will continue to build upon the tour and walk you through every step of the way. For the college tour to be effective, you, as the student, must ultimately succeed.

开始大学之旅不仅是一次旅行，也是一种投资。去参观大学校园，看看风景是很棒的，但它应该不止于此。这是一个认真为你的未来负责的时机。当你在寻找合适的大学之旅时，一定要做些调查，看看哪一个对你有实际价值。我在这里为你推荐筑梁学社 Campus Unlimited的浸入式训练营(www.campusunlimite.org)。这个项目是由加州大学伯克利分校与美国未来的商业领袖-Phi Beta Lambda共同主办的。

Embarking on a college tour is not only a trip but also an investment. It is great to go around to visit college campuses and see the sights, but it should be so much more. It is a time to get serious about taking responsibility for your future. While you are looking for the right college tour, be sure to do your research and see which one offers actual value to you. I recommend you take a close look at Campus Unlimited’s Immersion Boot Camp (www.campusunlimited.org). This program is hosted at UC Berkeley in conjunction with the Future Business Leaders of America – Phi Beta Lambda.

筑梁学社的重点是让学生为申请过程做全面的准备。这是一个全英文的浸入式美国大学教学项目，在加州大学伯克利分校举行的系统课程将会贯穿在整个行程中，教你如何在申请竞争中脱颖而出，以及如何在美国大学中取得成功。

This program focuses on preparing the student for the application process in a comprehensive manner. It is an all English instruction program with valuable workshops that teach you how to be a competitive applicant and what it takes to succeed in college.

他们的系统课程由宾夕法尼亚大学和加州大学伯克利分校(UCBerkeley)的校友共同开发，也延伸到家庭成员和家长，以确保他们也拥有适当的知识来支持学生。除了系统课程，学生还将参加由加州大学伯克利分校教授讲授的大学讲座。

Their workshops series, developed by University of Pennsylvania and UC Berkeley alumni, also extend to family members and parents, making sure that they also have the knowledge they need to properly support their student. In addition to workshops, students will attend real lectures taught by actual UC Berkeley professors.

筑梁学社的项目将在加州北部和南部的众多大学进行导览。在参观过程中，你会遇到来自各地大学的学生，以及成功的行业精英。此外，筑梁学社是唯一一个在申请过程和入学后续个人发展提供指导的教学项目，他们的目的是确保学生能顺利地适应新的校园生活。筑梁学社的西行学社将于2019年9月30日开始，现已开放报名，感兴趣的学生或家庭可提前续订席位。